Lando Norris scores Sao Paulo GP hat-trick: 'I figured it out pretty quickly'

Lando Norris felt he managed to "figure out pretty quick" how to drive in the rain after qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix was dominated by torrential conditions.

Q1 at a sodden Interlagos was red-flagged after just two and a half minutes, following which there followed an 82-minute delay as FIA race control waited for the conditions to ease.

When they did, Norris was superb, ultimately finishing top of the timesheet when it mattered most, beating George Russell in his Mercedes to top spot on the grid, with incoming champion Kimi Antonelli third quickest.

Antonelli will start on the front row alongside Norris due to Russell serving a five-place penalty for his W17 taking on a new internal combustion engine.

After claiming a third successive pole position for the São Paulo event, speaking to Sky Sports F1, Norris said: "Well, it's been a long day; it's been a great qualifying.

"Obviously, to be on pole again here two years in a row [sic] is...different conditions to last year, but I'm very happy.

"It wasn't easy conditions out there, especially when you know it's going to rain a lot more. It was about getting two laps in at the beginning, not making any mistakes, and that's exactly what we did, so it's been a very good day.

As to whether he had learned anything given the lack of wet running this season with the new power units, Norris said: "Well, this was my first time driving the car in the wet, so I think I figured it out pretty quickly.

"It was tough - wet, inters, all different tyres. It was very windy as well on the last couple of laps, so it's certainly a good day for learning for me and good to take into tomorrow.

"These guys [Mercedes] are also very quick, so [I'm] just happy. Today was about getting on pole; it doesn't really matter how you do it. So very pleased with that."